Automatically-operated electric iron



Feb. 9,1926. 1,572,441

C. E. MACY AUTOMATICALLY dPERATED ELECTRIC IRON Filed March 5, 1925 E,#V I grwwtoz (T El /a (y Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

UNITIED s rArE's CHARLES E. MACY, @F IOWA HILL, GAILIFORNIA.

AUTQM ATICALLY -UPERATED ELECTRIC IRON.

Application filed March 3, 1925. Seria1 No.-12,939.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. MACY, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Iowa Hill, in the county ofPlacer and State c of California, have invented certain new and, usefulImprovements in Automatically- Up erated Electric Irons, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

, and

This invention relates to electric irons, articularly to means forcontrolling the circuit through the heating element of the electriciron. I a

In the ordinary electric iron there is great danger of leaving thecircuit, on after the iron is set aside and the operator forgetting thatthe circuit is on. Telltale lamps have been disposed in the circuit ofthe heating element so that when the lamp is on the operator, seeing it,may know that the current is still on and turn the switch to cut d thecurrent. Thermostatic devices have also been provided to automaticallyout 0d the circuit when the iron has reached a certain degree of heat.

The object of the invention is to provide an electric iron soconstructed that the circuit through the heating element is closedeither when the handle is gripped or when the iron is disposed upon astand but that this circuit is broken when the grasp on the handle isreleased, unless the iron be placed upon the stand, thus eliminating alldanger of fire caused by leaving the iron resting upon a conrbiistiblesurface, and also eliminating damage due to overheating the iron.

. A further object is to provide a device of this character in whichthere is a switch in the circuit including the heating element, thisswitch being connected to one of the sections of a sectional handle andbeing so arranged that when the handleis grasped the movable sectionwill be drawn toward the fixed section, thus closing the circuit throughthe switch, and to provide a stand upon which the iron may rest, thisstand having a member which engages the switch and forces the switchclosed when the iron is laced in proper position upon the stand.ther'objects will appear in. the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, wherein I,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an iron constructed in accordance withmy invention,

the handle being partly broken away and the rear ,end of the iron beingpartly broken r; 1'

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the stand upon which the iron rests;

contact member when the iron is not upon the stand and not beinggrasped;

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the wiring for the parts.

Referring to the drawing, designates an electric iron of any suitable orusual construction and having therein a heating element 1]. This iron isprovided with a handle section '12 carried ",by supports 13 and 13. Oneof these supp'orts isshown as connected to a socket 14 within which anelectric light cord 15 is disposed, the wires of thiselectric light cord15 and 15" extending down into the casing of the iron, and one or thesewires is connectedto the heating element in the usual manner.

Disposed within the rear end of the iron is a longitudinally shiftableswitch member 16 which also carries a conductor 16 and is provided witha shoulder 17. This switch member 16 projects out through alongitudinally extending passage in the rear end of the iron andprojects into a recess 18 formed in the rear end of the iron so thatwhile the rear end of the contact member 16 projects beyond the bottomof the recess, it does not project beyond the general plane of the rearface 19 of the iron. end of the switch member 16 is opposed to a contactpoint 20 and when the switch memher is forced inward it will haveelectrical engagementwith this contact point. Normally, however,.theswitch member is urged away from the contact point 20, by means of thecoiled spring 21 which bears against the shoulder 17.

The handle section 12 is crescent-shaped in cross section, and disposedwithin the longitudinal recess definedby the crescentshaped handlesection 12 is a handle section 22. This is mounted upon a slightlycurved arm 23 whose lower extremity is forced, as

at 24, to embrace the switch member 16 and bear against the shoulder 17.Opposite the rear end of the section 22 there is provided a fulcrum. lnother words, the upper end *ofthe arm-'23 is hinged at this point toears 25 projecting from the support 13 so that no 60 Figure is afragmentary rear endelevation showing the normal position of the Theopposite 90 when the handle section 22 is grasped and drawn upwardagainst the fixed section 12 the handle section rocks upon the fulcrumformed by the ears 25 and the lower end of the arm 23 is shifted againstthe shoulder 17 and forces the switch 16 against the contact member 20,thus completing the circuit through the heating element.

llhus it will beseen that whenever the iron is grasped for operation thecircuit is completed and the heating element energized, but that as soonas the grasp upon the handle of the iron is released the spring 21 willurge the switch away from the contact will be cutothit is, of course,necessary to provide means upon which the iron may rest, and to this endI provide a stand 26. This stand has for one of its essential elementsthe downwardly and rearwardly extending supporting element 27,preferably "carrying rollers 28 upon which the under surface of the irondirectly rests so that the iron will by gravity tend to shift rearward.At the rear end of the support 26 there is provided an upwardlyextending flange 29 which is forwardly bowed, as shown in Figure 2, soas to provide a contact portion 30 adapted to engage with the switch 16and force this switch inward to the depth of the recess in the rear faceof the iron, thus forcing the switch 16 against the contact point 20 andclosing the circuit through the heating element. Thus so long as theiron is F disposed upon the support 26 the heating element will beenergized, and when the iron is picked up the grasp of the hand upon thehandle will also hold the switch closed and the switch will remainclosed while the iron is being used, hut when the iron is set down,unless it is disposed upon the stand 26, the current will be'cut otif ofthe heating element and the iron will shortly grow cool.

I claim v 1. In an electric iron, a heating element,

a switch controlling the passage of current ]to the heating element, ahandle formed in two similar sections, one of said sections be- 59 ingrigidly connected to the iron, the lower of said sections beingpivotally mounted at one end at a point adjacent to the like end of theother section and said pivoted section of the handle having an armextending downward into the body of the iron and operatively engagingsald switch, and re-' silient means urging the switch to an openposition and the movable section of the bandie away from the fixedsection thereof.

2. An electric iron including an electricall energized heating element,a switch contro ling the passage of current thereto, means resilientlyurging it to a position to break the circuit through the heatingelewent, a handle for the iron; handle-operated point and the current tothe heating element means for shifting the switch into position to closethe circuit through the heating element, the switch having a portionextending out through the side wall of the iron and projecting beyondthe face of the same, a 7" stand for the iron, and means on the standengaging said projecting portion of the switch and shifting the switchinward whereby when the iron is disposed upon the stand the switch willbe shifted into its circuit-closing position against the action of saidspring.

3. In an electric iron, a heating element, a switch controlling thepassage of current thereto, said switch being longitudinally movablewithin the iron and projecting at. the rear end of the iron, a springurging the switch to its projected position and out of electricalengagement with the heating element, and a stand having means thereon toengage the rear end of the switch and shift it into electricalengagement with the heating element when the iron is disposed upon thestand.

4:. In an electric iron, a heating element, a. switch controlling thepassage of current thereto, said switch being longitudinally movablewithin the iron and, projecting at the. rear end of the iron, a springurging the switch to its projected position and out of electricalengagement with the heating element, a stand having a downwardly andrearwardly inclined supporting face, and means at the rear end of thestand adapted to engage said switch when the iron rests upon the standand bears against said means to thereby force the switch into positionto close the circuit through the heating element.

5. The combination with an electric iron, the rear end of the ironhaving a recess, a switch disposed within the iron and controlling thepassage of current through the heating element of the iron, said switchprojecting at its rear end into said recess, of a support for the iron,said support being downwardly and rearwardly inclined and having rollersto support the iron, the rear end of the support having an upwardly andinwardly extending member adapted to engage with said switch and forcethe switch forward and into contact with the heating element when theiron moves rearward on the support under the action of gravity.

6. llhe combination with an electric iron having an electric heatingelement, handleoperated means for closing a circuit through the heatingelement when the handle is grasped and in combination with a support.for the iron having a member toward which the iron moves under theaction of gravity, said member being adapted, when the iron is in place,to close the circuit through the heating element.

7 ."An electric iron including a heating end of the iron, a sectionalhandle, one of element, a longitudinally movable switchmounted in therear end of the iron and adapted, when 'moved forward, to close acircuit through the heating element and when moved rearward to break thecircuit, a spring urging said switch rearward, the end of the switchprojecting beyond the rear said sections being fixed and the othermovable, the movable section having an arm operatively engaging theswitch whereby end of theswitch beyond the rear end of the viron, saidswitch when moved forward against the action of the spring closing thecircuit through the heating element, an arm carried by the movablesection of the handle and engaging said switch, a fulcrum supporting themovable section and the arm whereby when'the movable section is forcedtoward the fixed section of the-handle the arm will shift the switch toits circuit-closing position, and a support for the iron having rollersdisposed in a downwardly and rearwardly extending plane, the rear end ofthe support having an upwardly extending member adapted to engage therear end of .the switch and force it forward into elec- "tricalengagement with the heating element when the lIOIl moves rearward underthe action of gravity on said support.

In testimonywhereof I.hereunto afiix my signature.

CHARLES E. MACY.

